The present invention relates generally to protective covering of a SCUBA diver during underwater activity.
The provision of protective coverings for persons during underwater activity is generally well known. Protective coverings or fairings made of water resistant, semi-rigid materials, and having transparent viewing facilities are also known in the art. Such coverings which feature for example close-fitting bathing suits, body sealed hoods, jackets and helmets, are unsuitable for protective enclosure of a SCUBA diver wearing diving equipment during underwater activity because of difficulties and problems in enclosing both the diver and equipment without discomfort to the diver and impedance of underwater diver movement. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a protective covering or fairing for a SCUBA diver which will avoid the aforementioned difficulties and problems, as well as to enhance forward underwater movement.
In accordance with the present invention, a fairing as a protective underwater covering encloses both the head and torso of a SCUBA diver, wearing the usual diving equipment, with comfort providing clearance throughout. Such fairing has a hydrodynamic shape to enhance forward underwater movement of the diver by reducing seawater drag and further neutralizes inducement of upward surface flotation forces by venting of any diver exhaust gas in the fairing through holes formed in the top and rear end of its torso covering shell section, which is fixed to an upper transparent head covering shell section through which diver viewing is accommodated. Buoyancy distributing weights are fixedly mounted at appropriate spaced locations in the torso shell section of the fairing to neutralize inducement of upward surface flotation. An insertion opening of maximum cross-sectional fairing dimension is formed at the end of the torso covering section to accommodate facilitated entry of the diver into the fairing.